The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
LEARNING ON A DAY WITH NO SCHOOL
Science Day draws hundreds of youths with interactive exploration, experimental activities
With no school scheduled on Presidents Day, hundreds of local youths still took advantage of learning about everything from the physics of flight to basic chemical reactions during Science Day at Lake Metroparks Environmental Learning Center.
Similar to Astronomy Day held last month at the Concord Township property, the day was, naturally, all about science, but featured in different disciplines than many kids are used to, said Beck Parkin, assistant chief of outdoor education.
“The whole day is dedicated to how awesome and cool science is, and how the study of the science is not only what we do in a lab, classroom or controlled environment, wearing lab coats, but also how science is all around us, everywhere we look,” Parkin said.
“It’s literally in our own backyards.”
Activities and lab demonstrations had youths moving through the center visiting different stations, watching staff members conduct a variety of experiments, and participating in hands-on science projects based in nature, including “Baking Soda Explosions,” “Rock and Roll with Rocks” and “Noble Gases Hopscotch.”
Another station, Water Cycle, for instance, explained how water moves around the planet.
“The Watershed Activity centers tell the journey of how water travels, as rivers and streams, through our hills and terrain, while showing kids how important that is for our clean water sources,” Parkin said. “And that’s just one example.”
Another example presented interpretive activities in classrooms explaining how birds fly.
“It gets kids thinking with the idea of creating something, too,” Parkin said.
“The idea is having them tap into their inquisitive natures with the aim of figuring things out. That’s what science is all about, when it comes right down to it. Critical thinking and solving problems has them working by themselves and in teams, and they acquire the thought processes to test it and to gain knowledge about the world around them.”
Champion Township resident Emily Evick said she gathered her group and decided to go to the center for the event because they’d never been before.
“We like Lake Metroparks, and we come out all the time for events and just to explore, but this is the first time for this,” she said, as her girls identified rocks with Outdoor Education Specialist Amber Tubman.
“We saw the event on the website and decided to come out to fill the hours with no school today.”
In the lab, the girls — Lily, Cevanna and Evie — discovered what rocks have organic material in them, placing them in vinegar and waiting for them to bubble.
“When it has carbon in it, it means it’s been living, so as it bubbles, they know at some point something alive was in that rock, versus a mineral which doesn’t (or wouldn’t) do anything,” Parkin added.
“Kids realize science is fun. A lot of times it’s something safe they can do at home with something they have in their everyday lives. It’s not all exams and worksheets. I mean, when they brush their teeth, how the toothpaste reacts, that’s science. The discoveries are everywhere. We want everybody to wander through ELC figuring out science.”
Marcella Parke makes it a point to visit Lake Metroparks with her daughters, Sophia and Sylvia, frequently, especially when new programs are offered.
“We love science, that’s our favorite subject, and we come to classes here all the time, man — we love it,” Marcella said. “A lot of park systems could take a page out of what Metroparks does, to be honest.
“They do a lot of creative events. My girls love it. If they could do it all day, every day, they would live here.”